1. Field of the invention
The present invention relates to a tilt or tilt and telescopic steering apparatus for use in a vehicle. More particularly, the present invention relates to a tilt or tilt and telescopic steering apparatus for use in a vehicle, in which a conventional structure, which should be provided with both of tilting fixing gears and telescopic fixing gears for locking after a tilt or tilt and telescopic operation, is improved in such a manner that the tilt or tilt and telescopic operation may be locked by a locking member and a linear protruding portion, so that an improper tooth-engagement phenomenon (tooth-on-tooth phenomenon) between gear teeth can be prevented, the tilt operation and the telescopic operation can be simultaneously locked, and required components can be reduced such that material costs can be reduced.
2. Description of the Prior Art
FIG. 1 is a partial exploded perspective view of a tilt or tilt and telescopic steering apparatus for a vehicle.
As illustrated in FIG. 1, a conventional tilt or tilt and telescopic steering apparatus 100 for a vehicle includes: an outer tube 105 positioned outside an inner tube 103 to enclose a part of the inner tube 103; the inner tube 103 configured to enclose a steering shaft 101 and to be movable inside the outer tube 105; a mounting bracket 107 installed to be capable of supporting the outer tube 105 on a vehicle body; a support portion 108 formed with a slit 125 being provided on a lower portion of the mounting bracket 107; a hinge bracket 109 installed to interconnect a hinge 117 connected with the inner tube 103 and the vehicle body; a lower support member 111 fixedly installed on a lower part of the outer tube 105; slots 119 being formed on both sides of the lower support member 111; an adjustment bolt 127 connected through the slots 119 of the lower support member 111 and through an adjustment nut 123; a cam 131 fixedly installed on a moving gear block 129 and fitted on the adjustment bolt 127; a protrusion being provided on a front surface of the cam to form a space for tilt and telescopic adjustment at the time of release action; an adjustment lever 133 provided with a structure corresponding to the cam 131 and fitted on the adjustment bolt 127; and the adjustment nut 123 fitted on an end of the adjustment bolt 127 together with a bush 135 and provided outside the adjustment lever 133.
Meanwhile, the tilt and telescopic locking apparatus includes the moving gear block 129, a first telescopic fixing gear 113, a second telescopic fixing gear 115, a first tilting fixing gear 137, and a second tilting fixing gear 139.
The moving gear block 129 is fitted on the adjustment bolt 127, and the first telescopic fixing gear 113 is fixedly installed on the outside of the lower support member 111. The second telescopic fixing gear 115 is installed widthwise on the inside of the moving gear block 129 to be correspondingly tooth-engaged with the teeth of the first telescopic fixing gear 113. The first tilting fixing gear 137 has an arc shape and is fixedly installed on the outside of the support portion 108 of the mounting bracket 107, and the second tilting fixing gear 139 is fixedly installed widthwise on the outside of the moving gear block 129 to be correspondingly tooth-engaged with the teeth of the first tilting fixing gear 137.
However, since the conventional tilt or tilt and telescopic steering apparatus for a vehicle which is configured as described above requires all of the moving gear block, the telescopic fixing gears, and the tilting fixing gears for locking after the tilt operation and the telescopic operation, the conventional tilt or tilt and telescopic steering apparatus has problems in that its structure is complicated, a lot of components are required and, thus, the material costs are high.
In addition, there is a problem in that, since an improper tooth-engagement phenomenon (tooth-on-tooth phenomenon) ocurres and thus, the gear teeth are not smoothly tooth-engaged with each other at the time of locking after the tilt operation and the telescopic operation, the tilt and telescopic locking is not smoothly completed.